USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 12
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Three days before the capture of Fort Niagara, the flotilla of Amherst, having on board eleven thousand regulars and provincials, descended Lake George, and on the 22d of July the troops were disembarked on the shore of the outlet op- posite to where Abercrombie had landed the season before. The French being defeated, the same evening, Bourlamarque, the command- ant, set fire to the fort at Ticonderoga, and retreated to Crown Point. Two weeks after- ward he abandoned Crown Point also, and re-
200
HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS.
[1759.
tired to Isle-aux-Noix. Taking possession of the deserted works, Amherst employed his troops during the remainder of the campaign in strengthening the fortifications, and preparing boats for a descent on Montreal.
Leaving Louisburg as early as the season would permit, Wolfe embarked eight thousand troops on board a fleet of forty-four sail, com- manded by Admiral Saunders, and on the 25th of June succeeded in landing the army on the Isle of Orleans, a short distance below Quebec.
For nearly three months the strength of the defences, and the vigilance of Montcalm, baffled all the efforts of the young English commander. At length, on the 13th of September, Wolfe finally succeeded in secretly scaling the Heights of Abraham, and drew up five thousand of his troops in battle array upon the plains before the city. Montcalm immediately advanced and opened an attack. After an obstinate and well- contested battle, the French gave way. Wolfe, twice wounded, expired in the moment of vic- tory. The brave Montcalm, also mortally wounded while rallying the fugitives near St. John's gate, did not survive to witness the sur- render of the city he had defended so ably and and so long. With the fall of Quebec termi- nated, in effect, the French power in North America.
The English troops being in possession of all '
201
1760.]
BERNARD APPOINTED GOVERNOR.
the military posts in Canada, with the exception of Montreal, Amherst proceeded to reduce the latter. On the 11th of October, he embarked his army -in batteaux; but while descending Lake Champlain he was compelled by adverse winds and foul weather to retrace his course, and defer the contemplated attack until the fol- lowing spring. On his return to Crown Point, the Massachusetts levies, in common with the other provincials, were disbanded and sent home. The regulars went into winter quarters.
In February, 1760, Francis Bernard was ad- vanced from the government of New Jersey to supersede Pownall in that of Massachusetts. Bernard did not, however, assume the duties of his new office until late in the summer; and, in the mean time, the administration devolved upon Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson. Montreal ca- pitulating to the English forces in the early part of this year, the conquest of Canada was com- pleted.
The independent spirit by which the Massachu- setts people were animated, evinced itself al- most immediately after the arrival of Bernard in the province. During the month of Septem- ber, while congratulating the legislature on the reduction of Montreal, he took occasion to re- mind them of "the blessings they derived from their subjection to Great Britain." The council, in reply, coldly acknowledged a « beneficial re-
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS.
[1760
lation" to the mother country ; while the house of delegates retorted with sturdy significance that " the whole world must be sensible of the blessings derived to Great Britain from the loyalty of the colonies in general, and from the efforts of this province in particular, which, for more than a century past, has been wading in blood, and laden with the expenses of repelling the common enemy, without which efforts Great Britain, at this day, might have had no colonies to defend."
If these responses manifested a determination to maintain the importance and proper inde- pendence of the colony, the events which oc- curred soon after made that determination still more apparent. For some years past the col- lectors and subordinate officers of customs had been in the habit of forcibly entering ware- houses, and even private dwellings, upon suspi- cion that they contained contraband goods. Justly incensed at such an unlawful assumption of authority, several persons commenced legal actions against the revenue officers, for entries forcibly made. Shirley, during his chief magis- tracy, had attempted to give colour to these in- trusions by the issue of warrants for the purpose. It having been proven that these warrants were worthless, Shirley next advised the custom-house officers to apply to the Supreme Court for writs of assistance, which, according to the English
203
ACTS OF ASSISTANCE.
1761.]
-
exchequer practice, gave authority to the bearer to search when and where he pleased for con- traband goods, and authorized him, if necessary, to summon others to his assistance. But these writs, though applied for, had been withheld, Stephen Sewall, the chief justice, having doubts as to their legality.
In September, 1760, Sewall died. As the po- litical predilections of his successor would ne- cessarily have some weight in deciding upon the legality of the obnoxious writs of assistance, Hutchinson, already lieutenant-governor, coun- cillor, and judge of probate, was appointed by Bernard to the vacant seat, greatly to the cha- grin of James Otis, of Barnstable, a gentleman of sound legal attainments, to whom the place had been promised by Pownall, and in whose favour public opinion had already declared itself. Bernard evincing a determination to enforce the British Acts of Trade, a strenuous opposition arose. Soon after the appointment of Hutch- inson, application was again made for writs of assistance, to which exception was taken by mer- chants of Boston, and a motion made that their legality might be argued before the court.
Accordingly, in February, 1761, Hutchinson and his four associate judges assembled to hear the arguments on the question. For the crown it was urged that a statute of Charles II. al- lowed writs of assistance to be issued by the
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS. [1761
English Courts of Exchequer; that a similar power was given by a colonial law to the colo- nial superior court; while a statute of Wil- liam III. gave to American revenue officers like powers, and a right to like assistance as in Eng- land. The refusal of the writ would consequently entail the denial of the right of parliament to legislate for the colonies. Oxenbridge Thatcher and James Otis, the elder, were employed to oppose the issue of the writs.
The younger Otis, being advocate for the Admiralty, was bound in that professional ca- pacity to maintain the legality of the measure. Resigning his office, he accepted the retainer proffered him by the merchants ; and, in conjunc- tion with his father and Thatcher, opposed the legality of the issue. Thatcher spoke first. Reasoning on purely legal grounds, he argued that the rule of the English courts was not, in this particular case, applicable to the colonial. The younger Otis next arose, determined, as he said, to sacrifice every thing, "even life itself, to the sacred call of his country," "in opposi- tion to a kind of power, the exercise of which cost one king of England his head, and another his crown."
Taking a bold stand in favour of the rights of the colonies, he attacked the Acts of Trade as oppressive, and denounced the writs as de-
205
PUBLIC DISCONTENT.
1761.7
structive to the fundamental principles of liberty and law. They were illegal, and no act of parliament could establish them ; it would be a nullity. These arguments were advanced with a fiery and impassioned eloquence that stirred up the hearts of his hearers. Passing from lip to lip, the ardent sentiments of the young ad- vocate created an intense political excitement. The struggle for independence was already begun.
The writs, however, were granted; yet so great was their unpopularity that they were seldom used. The public mind brooded over its discontent. The odious authority of the Admi- ralty court, instituted by a British parliament to punish the infringements of the Acts of Trade, in America, without the intervention of a jury, and the powers of custom-house officers, always thought grievous because unconstitution- al, seemed now established by judges devoted to the prerogative. Innovations under pretence of law were confirmed by judgments incompa- tible with English liberties.
A powerful colonial party sprung up. At its head were the elder and the younger Otis. The latter, elected a representative from Boston, became a prominent member of the house of which his father was president, and a warm op- ponent of Hutchinson and his ministerial friends. He even endeavoured to exclude the latter from
18
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS.
[1762
the council, by a bill declaring the places o: chief justice and councillor incompatible with each other ; but by the influence of the govern ment the bill was defeated.
Bernard, by various artifices, sought to win the good-will of the elder and younger Otis. though he met with but little success. While inclining to advance the governor's personal interests, they remained faithful to the principles- they had espoused upon all questions of public importance.
At the opening of the assembly in Septem- ber, 1762, Bernard took occasion to inform the members that, by the advice of his council, and in advance of legislative action, he had ex- pended some three or four hundred pounds upon a ship and sloop employed to guard the fishing vessels from privateers. To this act the house, regarding it as unconstitutional, took exception. The younger Otis drew up a remonstrance, de- nouncing it as an infringement of "their most darling privilege, the right to originate all taxes." " It would be of little consequence to the people," said he, " whether they were subject to George or Louis-the King of Great Britain or the French king-if both were arbitrary, as both would be if both could levy taxes without parlia- ment." A cry of treason was raised. Otis, passionate, but not intractable, consented to qualify the offensive passage in which the king's
207
TREATY OF FONTAINEBLEAU.
1763.]
name had been so freely used ; Bernard, how- ever, insisted on its complete erasure, and his friends were yet sufficiently numerous to prevail.
Overpowered in the assembly, Otis vindicated the justice of his language through a pamphlet, which he published at the close of the session, and in which the grand principles of the decla- ration of independence,-resistance to tyranny, the natural equality of mankind, and the ille- gality of taxation without representation,-were boldly avowed and defended.
In the mean time George III. had succeeded to the throne of Great Britain. No immediate change of ministerial policy followed the acces- sion of the young king ; but after a little while dissension arose in the cabinet, which compelled Pitt to resign. He was succeeded by Lord Bute, the king's late preceptor.
In February, 1763, the Treaty of Fontaine- bleau was signed. Relieved of other cares, the English ministry now turned their attention toward the colonies, various measures for the better control of which they had been maturing for the past ten or twelve years.
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS.
-
[1763
CHAPTER XV.
Feud between the regulars and provincials-Good understand- ing among the several provinces-Condition of England- Financial embarrassments-Project to tax America-Parlia- ment asserts the right to tax the colonies-The Stamp Act proposed-Colonial agitation-Massachusetts remonstrates -Passage of the Stamp Act-Proceedings in Boston-The Virginia resolutions-A congress of colonial delegates recom- mended-Petition and remonstrances forwarded to England -Riots in Boston-Personal safety of Hutchinson endanger- ed-Resignation of the stamp-distributor-Repeal of the stamp-tax-Whigs and Tories-Opposition to the revenue Laws-Increasing unpopularity of Governor Bernard- Townsend's bill for taxing America-Its reception in Boston -- Message of Bernard to the house of representatives-The legislature adjourned-Seizure of the sloop Liberty-Alarm of the commissioners of customs-Popular demonstration- Publicmeeting called-The house of representatives dissolved -Arrival of troops-Convention of provincial delegates at Faneuil Hall.
DURING the prevalence of the various inter- colonial wars, the provincial levies, upon whom the severer and more dangerous duties of the service frequently devolved, had borne with feel- ings of ill-suppressed indignation the display of superiority assumed by the British officers. The feud, thus engendered, was not wholly suppress- ed even by the conciliatory conduct of Pitt. A. rivalry in arms had sprung up. A long conti- nuance of hostilities had inspired many of the
209
1763.] CONDITION OF ENGLAND.
colonists with a natural ardour which increased as they became familiarized to arms and the usages of war. By the intermixture, also, of troops from different provinces, local prejudices had been removed, the strength and resources of the colonies made more apparent to one an- other, and the idea of union, in a common cause, diffused among the people.
Upon colonies thus conscious of their power, full of trained soldiers and accustomed to politi- cal independence, the British ministry prepared to exercise a restrictive policy. The expenses of the various wars in which England had been en- gaged, from the time when William of Orange ascended the throne to the late conquest of Ca- nada, had accumulated a national debt of seven hundred millions of dollars. The great increase of territory acquired by the peace of Fontaine- bleau was but a poor compensation for the financial distress into which the country was plunged by the expenses of Some portion of this enormous outlay being justly chargeable to the defence of the American colo- nies, the ministry sought a partial relief in the future by endeavouring to draw from the pro- vinces a revenue sufficient to defray the cost of their support and protection.
They attempted to accomplish this desirable result through the action of parliament, whose right to control the colonies was at that time 18*
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS.
[1764.
reluctantly acknowledged by many of the most prominent men in America. If the revenue they required could be obtained in this way, it was easily foreseen that the independence of the provincial assemblies would be henceforth re- stricted, and the royal prerogative considerably enlarged.
Out of the revenue thus raised, it was proposed to support ten thousand regular troops in Ame- rica as a peace establishment. A scheme for parliamentary taxation had been originated early in the commencement of the late war. Though laid aside at that time by the pressure of other duties, it was now revived by the new ministry, at the head of which was George Gren- ville, formerly President of the Board of Trade. Already, by the passage of laws professedly for the regulation of trade and commerce, parlia- ment exercised a dubious authority over the co- lonies. These laws, though strenuously opposed at first, especially by the people of New Eng- land, had at length been reluctantly submitted to by some, and were as systematically evaded by others. Having thus opened the way for more serious exactions, the House of Commons, in March, 1764, at the recommendation of Gren- ville, resolved, " that parliament had a right to tax the colonies," and advised a bill imposing a duty on stamps, by which a great variety of le- gal papers, to be valid in courts of law, were to
211
STAMP ACT PASSED.
1765.]
be written on stamped paper, sold by public officers appointed for that purpose, and at prices which included a stated tax on every such document.
Immediately on receiving intelligence of the passage of this resolution, the colonies became agitated by mingled feelings of alarm and indig- nation. Leading the opposition, Massachusetts forwarded to London a remonstrance and pe- tition: While acknowledging subordination to Great Britain, she firmly, but respectfully, pro- tested against the proposed measure, and de- clared that, by submitting to taxation without representation, the people would be reduced from free subjects to "the miserable condition of tributary slaves."
Similar petitions and remonstrances flowed in from other colonies. In spite of these, however, the obnoxious bill was passed through parlia- ment. On the 22d of March, 1765, the Stamp Act was imposed.
The ominous tidings of its passage was re- ceived in Boston with every token of intense in- dignation. Amid the muffled tolling of bells, the flags of the vessels in port were hung at half- mast; the act itself, bearing the impress of a death's head in lieu of the royal arms, was cried about the streets under the title of "England's Folly and the Ruin of America." The news- papers were filled with articles in opposition
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS. [1765
The "Constitutional Courant" appeared with a new and significant head-piece, representing the divided portions of a snake, marked with the initial letters of the thirteen colonies, above which was the motto, " Join, or die."
The assembly of Virginia being in session when the intelligence arrived in that province, was the first to act in the emergency. A series of resolutions were passed, drawn up by Patrick Henry, in language so bold and spirited that the government party did not hesitate to call it trea- sonable. Before these resolutions reached Bos- ton, the general court had convened and ap- pointed a committee to consider the proper course to be pursued under the existing circum- stances. By this body, a congress of delegates from the several colonial legislatures was recom- mended to meet in New York. Bernard, and the friends of government, not venturing to withhold their support from this proposition, it was adopted.
Accordingly, in October, deputies from nine colonies met in convention at the city of New York, and agreed upon a solemn declaration of rights, in which they claimed exemption from all taxes except those levied by their respective legislatures. Petitions to the king, and to the House of Commons, and a memorial to the House of Lords, were also unanimously adopted. Respectful and affectionate, yet firm and manly
213
OUTBREAKS IN BOSTON.
1766.]
in their tone, these documents pointed out, with great force and perspicacity, the grievances, and explained the rights and privileges of the colonies, humbly praying that the former might be redressed and the latter respected.
But the indignation of the provincials against the Stamp Act was not confined to legitimate and legislative action. In Boston, formidable out- breaks occurred. Prominent friends of the ministry were hung in effigy. The house of the lieutenant-governor was mobbed, and Hutchinson himself obliged to fly for his life. Oliver, who had been appointed stamp-distributor for the province, was frightened into resigning his office. Though the actors in these scenes of open vio- lence were well known, they were secured from punishment by the tacit approbation with which their course was regarded by the people.
In other colonies, riots also became frequent ; the stamp-distributors were everywhere com- pelled to resign, and all attempts to carry the obnoxious law into effect proved utterly useless.
In the mean time, by a change in the English ministry, the Rockingham party had come into power. Ostensibly more liberal than their pre- decessors, and finding the stamp-tax wholly inoperative, the new ministry procured its re- peal at the parliamentary session of 1766.
With singular inconsistency, a bill was passed at the same time, claiming the right of parlia-
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS.
[1766.
ment to enact measures to secure the dependency of the colonies, " in all cases whatsoever," and declaring that the exclusive privilege of levying taxes, as contended for by their respective le- gislatures, was derogatory to and incompatible with the authority of the crown.
This declaration the colonists regarded as merely adopted to soften the chagrin of those who now unwillingly submitted to a withdrawal of the stamp-tax. It did not, therefore, inter- fere with the general joy which their signal triumph had elicited. But though the extreme agitation of the great body of the people through- out the colonies subsided with the abrogation of a measure so dangerous to their liberties, the two great parties of Tories and Whigs, the one supporting the royal prerogative, and the other defending the popular independence, still main- tained their respective organizations. Occasions were not wanting to enlarge and deepen the breach.
In several instances wherein goods were for- feited for having been smuggled into Boston contrary to the provisions of one of the Acts for the regulation of trade, the sympathy of the citizens had been strongly excited in favour of the losers, and no slight degree of indignation was vented against the astringent regulation and its parliamentary framers. The overbearing con- duct also of Bernard, in endeavouring to force
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1767.] DUTIES ON TEA, ETC.
the house of representatives to elect as coun- cillors only such persons as he approved, con- tributed greatly to keep alive party differences, and to augment the strength of the Whigs.
The principal act of the general court at the 'session of 1766, was a somewhat singular one, yet, by an examination of the circumstances, easily to be understood. Avowing their disap- proval of the late riotous proceedings, they passed a bill granting an equivalent in money to those persons whose property had been injured or destroyed during the disturbances. At the same time, and in the same bill, as a manifesta- tion of their determination to resist all such measure's as that which had lately elicited the anger of the people, they granted a free pardon and indemnity for losses sustained by arrests, imprisonments, or other legal steps taken against them, to all concerned in the riots.
The session of 1767 presented nothing of marked historical importance. The quarrel with Bernard was renewed, and commissioners ap- pointed to adjust the boundaries between Massa- chusetts and New York.
Soon after the adjournment, intelligence was received that Townsend, who had succeeded Grenville as chancellor of the exchequer, had procured the passage of a bill imposing certain duties on tea, paper, glass, and painters' colours, imported into America.
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HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS. [1768.
Justly regarding this act as another attempt to encroach upon their rights, the colonies im- mediately resumed their measures of resistance. At a town meeting, held soon after in Boston, it was resolved to suspend further importation of British goods until the offensive duties were removed. Subscriptions were also opened, at the same time, to encourage the establishment of manufactories in the provinces. Propositions of a character similar to those promoted by Massachusetts were adopted by the other colo- nies ; while resolutions, petitions, and remon- strances, contending that, when designed for revenue purposes, internal and external taxation were identical in principle, were despatched to England from all parts of America.
In Massachusetts, the dissatisfaction with Bernard continued to increase. Early in 1768, he laid before the house of representatives, then in session, a letter from Shelburne, one of the secretaries of state, severely condemning their conduct on various recent occasions in opposing the wishes of the governor. The house
was immediately in an uproar.
The strictures
contained in the letter were founded, they said, on misrepresentations of facts, communicated by Bernard in his despatches to the English secre- tary. Copies of Shelburne's letter, as well as Bernard's despatches, being denied to their re- quest, a committee was appointed to prepare a
1768.]
SEIZURE OF THE "LIBERTY."
217
vindication of their proceedings to the ministry. At length, after considerable time was spent in crimination and recrimination, Bernard ad- journed the legislature by a violent and insulting message, of which however no notice was taken. Though no important public business was. donc during the session, committees of the house had privately prepared and forwarded to the other provincial assemblies, a circular proposing a common union between the colonies, to take effective and constitutional steps toward pre- venting the execution and procuring the repeal of the late impost Act.
In May, the house again met for the election of councillors. While yet in session, a serious outbreak occurred. The sloop Liberty, owned by John Hancock, a young merchant of Boston, and an ardent Whig, was seized by the revenue commissioners for not having entered her full cargo, which, besides the articles belonging to her owner, was composed of Madeira wine, then subject to a considerable impost tax. The popu- larity of Mr. Hancock, together with the general dislike of parliamentary taxation, caused this seizure to be regarded with odium, and threats of a rescue were made by the people assembled on the wharf. Alarmed by these demonstrations. the commissioners of customs were induced to place the captured vessel under protection of
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